Volunteer or Grad School?

May 8, 2008 7:57 AM

How much will dropping off the face of the earth for a year impact my getting into grad school?

I'm contemplating volunteering for about 8 months after I graduate from college (June 2009) in Guatemala, or wherever (I just don't want to commit to two years with Peace Corps) after which I'd like to go directly to grad school the following fall (fall 2010). I'm not sure what I want to do and my plan is to apply to this volunteer program (I'm not sure they'll take me) as well as a few grad schools. I may very well decide to go to grad school in the fall of 2009 instead of traveling- I'm just not sure- so I'm going to apply for both.

One of these grad schools has a program that is pretty much a dream come true (It's a program for Board Certified Behavior Analysis through an all autism school) So let's hypothetically say I get in and choose to nicely decline because I want to go save Guatemalan children for 8 months, then come back spring of 2010 and want to get into the program in the fall of 2010. Do I reapply? Is there a chance that my acceptance or any fellowships I might have been granted would still stand? My main concern is that I'd get into my dream program, turn it down, come back, and my spot would be gone and I'd be kicking myself. I'm also concerned about coming back from Guatemala or wherever and trying to reapply, get recommendation letters, etc all ready before the application deadlines.

In short, any ideas about how long an acceptance to a grad school would stand or any advice in general?

posted by bobdylanforever to education (14 comments total)

Why not apply and get in, and then defer your admissions? Working abroad is not "dropping off the face of the planet", it's valuable work experience (more so than working domestically, in many ways)
posted by waylaid at 7:59 AM on May 8, 2008

Ya basically you have to check their deferral policy. Many schools/programs do allow you to defer for one year. If it doesn't say on their website, call/email them to ask. It doesn't hurt your chances to inquire about such things. Ask them about the fellowship thing too.

And also, I believe re-applying would be much less of a pain than the first time. The people who wrote your recommendation letters should have them saved away and you'll have personal statements from last year to get you started on new ones.
posted by bread-eater at 8:07 AM on May 8, 2008

You don't need to turn it down at most places, you can just defer for a year. Now, if you wanted to defer for two years, that would be a different thing (my fiance tried to do this and was told he'd have to reapply; some places promised him he would get in, but nobody would put anything in writing). One year, most schools won't even bat an eye.
posted by crinklebat at 8:08 AM on May 8, 2008

You'll know if you get in to grad programs April of 2009, so why not apply for the volunteer gig and see what happens?

People do defer, but be careful. They might take away your funding.

Or, don't apply, apply to the volunteer program and if you don't get in, get a 'normal' job for a year and apply for fall 2010.
posted by k8t at 8:08 AM on May 8, 2008

I agree, try to get in and then defer for a year. I've done this--of course after I deferred for a year I decided I didn't want to go after all, but that's another story.

But if you do think that you only want to wait a year, I think it's better to do the applying now while you are still in the college environment. I think your fear that it would be harder to come back and do GREs, recommendations and so on later (or have to arrange those things from abroad) is justified. Again, that's what happened to me.
posted by bluebird at 8:12 AM on May 8, 2008

How much will dropping off the face of the earth for a year impact my getting into grad school?

Genuinely dropping out of sight (by, say, living in your mother's basement and playing video games) won't help you at all. You aren't doing that -- you are talking about going off to do volunteer work, which is the sort of thing people do in order to become more credible grad school candidates. So there is no tension between the volunteering and the grad school, except maybe in your head.

You apply to both, and then make choices once you have definite yes/no answers. Don't ask about deferral policies ahead of time -- cross that bridge when you come to it (asking ahead may be read as a big signal that you aren't serious about starting the program you are applying for). Almost all programs (particularly professional master's programs that have high fees and take large cohorts every year) will happily defer your admission for a year; however, if they have taken the extra trouble to find you funding, a TA-ship, or the like, that may not be deferrable. There is a very different dynamic between PhD and master's programs in terms of deferrals, funding, etc, so the specifics really matter here -- take these general answers with a grain of salt, and make sure that they apply to your situation.

However, if you think there is a chance you may end up applying to grad schools from Guatemala, do everything you can to have things lined up beforehand -- some of the logistical stuff is hard to arrange from overseas. So take your GREs before leaving the country, have addresses and all your information with you, plan ahead for problems with paperwork, have a plan for how to get US dollar checks sent for application fees and the like, etc. Expect complications like the school thinking you are foreign (because you are in Guatemala, so of course you are foreign, right?) and refusing to classify you as a US citizen, and other frustrating things like that. Basically, plan ahead and build extra time into the application schedule, and you will be fine. If you try to last minute everything and don't have anything ready, it might not work so well.

I'm not sure what I want to do and my plan is to apply to this volunteer program (I'm not sure they'll take me) as well as a few grad schools.

Grad school is a really poor solution to the "I don't know what I want to do" problem. It is expensive (unless you are in a fully-funded PhD program, of course, and even then you are paying in terms of lost earnings, lost opportunities, etc), stressful, difficult, and time-consuming. And if you get it wrong, by drifting into a program that turns out not to be what you are interested in, stopping, rethinking, and redirecting yourself is a long and difficult process. Much better to go to Guatemala for a year or two and really make sure that you are confident in the track you are proposing for yourself, than to rush into something that you are doubtful of.
posted by Forktine at 8:44 AM on May 8, 2008

I think you're thinking about this entirely incorrectly. You're not planning to drop off the face of the earth. You're planning to do something that will make you a better candidate for grad school and better at whatever it is that you eventually plan to do. Unless you are a native Spanish speaker, going to Guatemala will improve your Spanish and will increase your cultural sensitivity and awareness. Living in another country will make you more mature and flexible and better able to take on the challenge of grad school. I don't know what Board Certified Behavior Analysis is, but I bet that having real hands-on experience working with kids won't hurt. If anything, you should be able to write a better, more interesting statement of purpose.

If you know that you want to go to grad school, go ahead and apply and then defer. But if you're not sure, I would go to Guatemala, come back, and then apply. I suspect that going to Guatemala will make you a stronger candidate.
posted by craichead at 8:49 AM on May 8, 2008

I think you'd be fine either way but it might be more of a hassle to apply from Guatemala. Talk to your undergrad advisor in the field.

One note though: deferral policies vary by school and department. It's a possibility but not a sure thing that you will be able to defer.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:55 AM on May 8, 2008

I'd recommend dropping off the face of the earth for more than just eight months in Guatemala. If you head straight to a PhD program after you finish your BA, unless you're getting a doctorate for the fun of it, you'll have to jump straight into the beginnings of a career post-PhD. Take some time off, explore the world. I have no doubt that the three years I spent teaching computer literacy classes at an inner city library, then ESL in Japan, then traveling overland from Beijing to France helped me mature in a way that grad school never could have (nor could I have had such an interesting and diverse application without those things, or gotten into the caliber of schools I wanted to be able to select from). You'll have all the time in the world to go to grad school--now's the time to volunteer, travel, adventure, experiment, and to have experiences that a rigorous, career-oriented grad program may stand in the way of later on.

Sorry for the lecture :)
For what it's worth, if you defer admission, you likely won't be allowed to defer (i.e. save for the next year) any funding/aid you're offered. You'll probably be evaluated the next year, and while you may do better (considering you'll have a lot of experiences to bring to the table if you're in contact with your department), you may also do worse.
posted by soviet sleepover at 10:08 AM on May 8, 2008

As someone who went straight to grad school, took a few years off, and then went to grad school again, let me tell you; you'll be more prepared with more life experience. Also, in many fields people are being told to take a year or two and work or volunteer in the hopes that the students may gain some maturity and discipline and lose some of the bad habits college can engender in us.
posted by justnathan at 10:51 AM on May 8, 2008

You don't need to turn it down at most places, you can just defer for a year.

I'd be super careful about just assuming that this is the case. It is the stated policy of many grad programs (especially the more selective ones) that you may not defer.
posted by ChasFile at 10:57 AM on May 8, 2008

I agree with justnathan.

Grad school is actually best for people who have already worked a few years in their selected field and wish to enrich their understanding of their field. People who go in blind tend to get a little gaga over obvious things whereas people with real life experience in their field are able to cut through the bullcrap and move on to things that matter. At least, that was my experience in grad school (I was one of the gaga idiots).

From what you say in your post it sounds like you would be doing behavioral therapy with individuals with autism. I really, really hope you have already gotten hands-on experience with that. I don't know anything about that field but it sounds like it could be an incredibly difficult job. So make sure it is really what you want to do before you commit to it (unlike some grad degrees, I don't think Behavior Analysis of Autism translates to other careers all that well).

Also, totally a derail, but you will not be "saving Guatemalan children". You will be interacting with a culture, hopefully learning, and providing some of your own time which will hopefully lead to improvements to their lives. I'm guessing it was just tongue in cheek but it is very important to keep the kind of work you are doing in perspective. If you are serious about making a difference, make sure to bring what you have learned back to States. Changing mindsets and making real structural changes is what is needed for genuine growth.

If your focus is on autism, I think that volunteering/working in an environment for individuals with autism might be a good idea. It could probably only help your chances of getting into grad school.

If your desire to go to Guatemala is mostly for the travel aspect, I say just travel. You really will still benefit the local people so long as you aren't tightfisted, are friendly and respectful, talk to the people you meet, and spend your money well (i.e. don't buy products made from endangered species, do buy locally made textiles from a women's collective). You'll also have more control over what you do. I find that travel helps you to focus on what's important. And now is the perfect time for you to travel.

If you're concerned that random travel won't look good on a resume, then make it about something -- perhaps you could go to different clinics around the world and find out about how Behavior Analysis, etc is used in different countries. If you write something good enough you could use it as a jumping point for your grad work.

Oh, and if you haven't worked full time and paid for everything yourself yet, do that. It generally makes you a lot more serious about schoolwork.
posted by Deathalicious at 12:25 PM on May 8, 2008

To clarify:
"saving Guatemalan children" and "dropping off the face of the earth" were both tongue in cheek. I'm well aware of the complexities of structural improvement and that volunteering there wouldn't be "saving." I'm also aware of the benefits of it, which is why I'm considering it- I didn't mean to demean volunteering by any means.
I've worked with individuals with autism extensively and am incredibly interested in behavior/behavior management. I know what I want to do/study, I'm just not sure I want to do it right away. I don't plan to get a PHD but want to get my Masters in Behavior Analysis because it would allow me to be flexible in special ed at least, which is the field I know I want to be in. I know I want to do special ed, I'm just not sure what populations I want to work with for sure. But, behavior analysis applies to pretty much every population of exceptional students so I feel like it would allow me to move around in the field. I could be a behavior consultant, work for a district specializing in that, work at a school with children with autism, or get a job teaching roughly any type of special ed (Autism, Emotional Behavior Disorders,Cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, etc) at a school (I have a cross-categorical K-12 and elementary ed undergrad degree).

Basically, I just love working with children and would love working with special ed, general ed, Emotional/Behavior Disorders, Autism, kids from other cultures, gifted and talented, low to high socio economic status, you name it. So while volunteering abroad or this program might not mean working in my specific field, I just want to travel and get a chance to work with different types of kids.
The reason I'm thinking about doing grad school so early is because I want to specialize in behavior and teach more severe students, work more in depth with their behavior in a way that I can't as easily with just an undergrad degree- especially given the education I've been given special ed wise (with much more of a focus on high incidence/learning disabilities than severe or low incidence disabilities).

Thanks for all the information here, I really appreciate it. I'll look into deferral policies but be wary of financial aid/fellowships, etc.
posted by bobdylanforever at 2:57 PM on May 8, 2008

If you do drop off the face of the earth, it will be excellent experience for grad school.

I'm six months away from completing a PhD, and I haven't seen the earth for 5 years.
posted by crazylegs at 1:11 AM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]